This youth activity uses Halloween candy as a discussion starter for the topic of evangelism. The Gospel is often called the “Good News” and it is something we should be excited about sharing with others. But like the popular Halloween phrase “Trick or Treat?” we sometimes wonder if evangelism is a trick or a treat? Is it something that frightens us, that we are tricked into doing, or are so excited about the Good News that we can’t help but share it with others.
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What you need
- A bag of candy (As Halloween is just around the corner, you can easily get a variety of candy in individually wrapped snack sizes.)
- a Bible
What to do
- Play some games with the youth as an icebreaker, preferably sitting in a circle.
- Once you have played a few rounds of a popular icebreaker game, simply reward one of the youth with a big bag of candy, preferable one of those who did not win any of the games. Describe and show the contents of the bag of candy to the youth and then simply reward it to one of them.
- If youth ask why the particular youth got the candy, simply explain that it is yours and you just wanted to give it to someone – not because of anything they did, but simply because of who you are – a good person.
- After you have given the candy to one of the youth, join the circle and stare expectantly at the person with the candy with your hand held out to receive a piece. Without saying anything, encourage other youth to also stare in expectation to get some candy.
- When the youth offers to share the candy, affirm them and thank them. (If the youth never offers to share, tell them that now is the time to share the candy, as if it was planned and they had forgotten.)
- Once everyone has some candy, debrief.
TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Debrief
To the Youth receiving the candy
- How did it feel to be given the big bag of candy, even though you were not a winner in any of the games?
- How did it feel when everyone stared at you expecting you to share the candy?
- What made you decide to share?
To the Rest of the Youth
- What were you hoping would happen when you saw the big bag of candy?
- How did it feel to see someone else get something good when you received nothing?
- Once the candy was given to someone else, what did you then hope for?
- How would you have felt if the candy had not been shared?
MAKE IT SPIRITUAL
Read Acts 4:18-20
- How was Peter and John’s sharing Jesus similar to (person’s name) sharing the candy with the rest of the youth?
- What was Peter and John’s motivation for sharing?
- How is salvation a gift? (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-10)
- How is does the experience with the candy, relate to us receiving the sweet gift of salvation?
- How would keeping the candy to yourself be like not sharing Jesus with others?
- How is the Gospel Sweet? Why does the popular hymn begin with “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound?”
One of the definitions of GRACE is
God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense
Jesus left the glory of heaven and suffererd through the agony of Calvary, dying on a cross to pay the penalty of sin in our place, so that God could give us the gift of eternal life. It is not something we deserved, but an undeserved gift. When we put our trust in him, we accept the gift and he calls us to share the same opportunity with others.
MAKE IT PRACTICAL
- What are some of the gifts we receive as a child of God?
- How can we share those gifts with others?
- What is the greatest gift you could give to someone?
- How can we share the gift of salvation with others in words?
- How can we share the gift of salvation with others in actions?
- Why do we need to share in both words and actions? (Romans 15:18)
MAKE IT PERSONAL
- What is your favorite thing to talk about (share) with others?
- Why do we find it easy to talk about things that we love, but difficult to talk about the Saviour we love?
- What is something that you can do this week to share the gift of salvation both in words and action?
Additional Scriptures
Acts 4:18-20
“Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'”
2 Corinthians 2:14-17 (NASB)
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith•and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Matthew 5:16
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
1 Peter 2:12
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
Romans 15:18
“For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience•by word and deed,”
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.